Who cares when Jesus was born? (Series: When Was Jesus Born?)

Over the past few weeks I’ve been writing about the date of Jesus’ birth. And so someone might ask – who cares? What difference does it make? Is all this really important?

There are actually a number of reasons why I think it’s worth our time to stop and think about the issue.

First, knowing some of the facts helps us to answer those who doubt the story altogether. Did the authors of the Gospels simply string together sort-of historical information to invent a story? Are there obvious contradictions that completely disprove the story?

We haven’t discussed all the common questions about the “Christmas stories” of the Bible, but we have seen that they seem to be grounded in history. Though we may not yet have all the pieces of the puzzle, there is nothing in the Gospel accounts that has no possible resolution. In the case of Quirinius, there are actually some good reasons to think that Luke was being very careful with his history.

Second, I hope that this study has shown us that it’s certainly not proven – and I would argue, unlikely – that Christmas is simply a copy of a pagan holiday. There is evidence that December 25th and especially January 5th/6th were dates related to the birth of Christ very early on – maybe even from the first days of the Church. The fact that they may not have been “celebrated” in the earliest days adds even more credence to the belief that Christians were not attempting to copy a pagan holiday.

It’s very easy to imagine similarities between celebrations and assume that there is an organic connection. There was a pagan holiday where people gave gifts – *gasp* – that’s what we do at Christmas! Do we really think that pagans have a monopoly on gift giving? God was the first gift giver. Pagans used to eat vegetables too, and sing their children to sleep. Should we now avoid leafy greens and lullabies?

Pagans sometimes decorated trees – *gasp* – so do we! Never mind that the tradition of the Christmas tree is strongly related to the early days of the Reformation. Never mind that most Christians see it as a symbol of life and light in Jesus Christ.

As far as the date of Christmas goes, in spite of the popular articles and TV shows you’ll see, the early connection between Christmas and pagan holidays is highly suspect, and at most completely unproven.

Do I want you to celebrate pagan gods in your house this winter? No, please don’t. Do I have a problem if you celebrate the true Christmas story that Matthew and Luke celebrate in their Gospels? Go for it. It will give you another excuse to nail the wonderful story and theology of the Incarnation to the lights and colours that we see and the rich food that we smell and taste and the music that we hear this time of year – and you can be reminded of the wonderful Gift that God gave us.

And just maybe if someone tells you, “Well, we know for sure that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th…” you can smile and say, “Are you sure about that?”

Finally, I think it’s worth it to think through the date of Jesus’ birth because it reminds us that this was a real event in history. Jesus came at the time of certain rulers, certain kingdoms, and certain customs. An angel appeared to a priest at the temple at a certain time. Joseph’s family fled from a certain king. Wise men from the East came at a certain time.

All this happened at the perfect time. It happened when God planned it to happen. And it could not have been otherwise. God told the prophets when it was going to happen. And it happened.

It’s one week until the 24th. I don’t care when you remember, but you should remember that one day – whenever that day was – Jesus was born, and angels and shepherds rejoiced. And if we are His, we are free.

But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his Son,
born of woman,
born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, “Abba! Father!”
So you are no longer a slave, but a son,
and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4:4-7